the cover
This Dhakaite came prepared. He
has everything he needs to navigate
the twists and turns of life in this
madcap city.
Cover art: Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy

Education

How to find a middle ground

How to...
T

his week, we are just full of
advice on Dhaka living.
To get around town like a boss,
memorise our “Dhaka life hacks” (pg
4). The traffic is probably “Driving
(you) crazy,” especially if you’re a
female behind the wheel (pg 5).
If you’d rather stay in, curl up with
8 films full of sage/hilarious advice
(pg 18). Or brave it and venture out
(pg 19).
Cuz we have “20 ways to survive
living in Dhaka while loving
Bangladesh” (pg 8-12).
We offer more handy tips on
unplugging from social media (pg

Editor’s note
6-7), giving zakat sustainably (pg 13)
and surviving the madness of local
hospitals (pg 17).
Speaking of madness, stay up
to speed with our guide to the
“Bloodshed in Gaza – again” (pg 2-3).
Here at home, we look for a
middle ground regarding Qawmi
madrasas (pg 12-13). We also meet
Ali Asgar (pg 20), the legendary
physicist who was an inspiration to
every science student in the country.
If you can make it here, you can
make it anywhere.
- Rumana Habib

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

2 News | how to understand israel-palestine

BLOODSHED IN GAZA - AGAIN
Syeda Samira Sadeque and Tasnuva Amin Nova

Bullets are flying in Gaza. The world has awakened to a new sense of war, and it is protesting. As of
Wednesday*, close to 200 people have died in Gaza due to air strikes from Israel. Thousands have been
injured and many more have been forced to flee. On Tuesday, Israel accepted an Egyptian proposal for a truce
in the conflict. However, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas has rejected the ceasefire proposal,
according to its official website.
* All news as of Wednesday

History of migration
After the holocaust that
killed six million Jews,
Zionists encouraged massive
immigration to Israel-Palestine,
at that time a British colony,
where Jewish communities
had an age-old connection and
existed in small groups among
larger communities of local
people.
But when the UN offered
Jewish immigrants the majority
of land in the UN partition
plan 1947, to create Israel,
the Palestinians living there
rejected the plan. Several Arab
states invaded the new state of
Israel. Israeli forces essentially
erased over 400 Palestinians
villages and towns.
By the end of the fighting,
Israel controlled 78% of
historic Palestine. Over
three-quarters of a million
Palestinians who had fled the
fighting were now permanently
barred by the Israeli
government.
Today, Palestinian refugees
and their descendants number
in the millions, most living in
the Gaza strip, the West Bank
and Jordan.

Israel was founded as a
Jewish state, inside which
Jews get special privileges,
including land and housing that
is denied to the Palestinians,
who make up 20% of Israel’s
population.
Israel still holds on to land in
the West Bank and Gaza that
they conquered in the war in
1967, building new Jewishonly cities in the occupied
territories, and supplying them
with infrastructure like roads,
army camps, schools and
colleges.
Military occupations are
meant to be temporary, but
after more than 40 years,
this one looks permanent.
To maintain the occupation,
Israelis have demolished
thousands of Palestinian
homes and orchards.
Confiscated Palestinian lands
are under the control of the
Jewish civilian population in
Gaza. Resistance is punished
by raids, assassinations, and
arrests.
Source: “Israel & Palestine,” an
animated video

The grief in Palestine
Social media
Reacts

Profile pictures are being
changed and protests are
circulating about “banning
Jewish products.” Ironically,
much of this is happening on
Facebook, a social media website
founded and operated by a
Jewish entrepreneur. Hashtags
such as #GazaUnderAttack and
#PrayersForGaza are trending on
Twitter.
Palestinian girls mourn at their home before the funeral of their uncle who died the day before in
an Israeli airstrike on Monday
AFP

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

Protest posts

While blood is being shed

in Gaza, it can be tempting
to criticise these methods
of protest. How much can
a hashtag do? Boycotting
Starbucks or other “Jewish
products” minimally affects how
much money Israel has in order
to carry out these attacks, and
allows the aggressors to still
maintain a level of impunity.
However, it cannot be denied
that the word has spread.
Thanks to social media, more
people are becoming aware
of the issue at least. The mere
awareness of this has the
potential to go a long way,
given the spirit in our recently
emerged protest culture.

3

The BDS Movement
The BDS (Boycotts, Divestment
and Sanctions) movement is
gaining newfound popularity
and momentum.
The movement began in 2005
in Palestine to call on Israel
to “comply with international
law and Palestinian rights.”
It has been in action since
then and has successfully
encouraged many people to

This cartoon, released by Israel Defense Forces, justifies Israel’s attack on Gaza

In the news

There has been debate and
harsh criticism of how most
of the western media has
been reporting the attacks by
Israel. The BBC, ABC New*,
CNN and Fox News (surprise!)
have expressed pro-Israeli
sentiments while The Guardian,
Reuters, and AFP have taken an
objective stance, reporting the
attacks and counter-attacks,
and the rising death toll in
Palestine. Most astonishingly,
however, a “Breaking News”
bulletin on The Jerusalem Post
recently reported “Neil Young
concert scheduled for Thursday
in Tel Aviv canceled due to
Gaza rockets.” They don’t have
death tolls to report on, after all.

A common ground
Fueling the fire

Hate spreads hate. As a
response to the Israeli attacks,
hateful speeches towards Jews
are spreading through social
media.
Many have also been
expressing such sentiments
towards Muslims, in solidarity
with Israel. There have been
Twitter hashtags and photos
by many Israelis, as well as
Facebook comments by Indians
who seem to be jumping on
the bandwagon of attacking
Muslims with #IndiaWithIsrael.
On Monday, the Bangladeshi
government officially
condemned the attacks by

Israel. On Tuesday, NDTV
reported that there was an
uproar in Indian Lok Sabha
when the government refused
to condemn Israeli attacks,
despite demands by several
opposition parties.
Many Bangladeshis have
protested locally. A human
chain was formed on Tuesday,
and many people have been
making donations through
the Palestinian embassy –
something that began and
materialised through Facebook.
In the United States,
President Barack Obama “has
said Israel has the right to
defend itself.”

Contrary to popular belief that all Jews support
the Israeli attacks on Palestine, many Jews
around the world have expressed their stance
against Israel’s approach. In this photo taken in
California, rabbis come to support the protest
outside the Israeli Embassy

Interesting
links to
check out
• “10 signs the IsraelPalestine conflict is
becoming more violent
than ever,” Listverse.com,
July 11, 2014 http://tinyurl.
com/qdzfrkj
• “A short introduction
about occupied Palestine”
(video) http://tinyurl.com/
ovmqfd7
• “As an ex-soldier in the
Israeli Defense Forces, I’ve
seen how shockingly we
treat Palestinians,” The
Independent (UK), July 15,
2014 http://tinyurl.com/
ndfe3eo
• “9 brands you can
boycott to hold Israel
accountable for its violation
of international law,” Mic,
February 19, 2014 http://
tinyurl.com/pwya6og
• “Why I’m on the brink
of burning my Israeli
passport,” The Huffington
Post, July 11, 2014 http://
tinyurl.com/mjjee7j
• “Stephen Hawking’s
boycott hits Israel where
it hurts: Science,” The
Guardian, May 13, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/ltcw3nz
• “I traveled to PalestineIsrael and discovered there
is no ‘Palestinian-Israeli
Conflict,’” The Huffington
Post, April 12, 2014 http://
tinyurl.com/m6vush6

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

4 listology | How to navigate our city
first three rows of most buses are
reserved for women.
There is a constant risk of being
pick-pocketed. Always remain on
your guard.
During rickshaw rides, tell the
pullers to cycle at a moderate pace,
and make sure you hold onto the
hood to avoid being thrown off.
During car rides, there is always
a chance of a hand popping in
through the window and snatching
away your valuables. Keep the
windows closed. Also, keep track of
gas consumption, as you don't want
to be cheated by your driver.

Haggle your way out

Syed Latif Hossain

Dhaka lifehacks

In her shopaholic book series,
Sophie Kinselle writes: “When I
shop, the world gets better, and the
world is better, but then it's not,
and I need to do it again.”
New Market, Chandni Chawk,
and Gausia and Doja markets are
a shopper's paradise. You can get
everything from trendy clothes,
books, household items, to
accessories. You name it, it's there.
The “but” here is that you
absolutely must know how to
bargain, or else the shopkeepers
will take you to the cleaners.
Take heed of the words of wisdom
from avid Dhaka College shopper,
Anita Amreen: “Never show a
seller how desperately you want
to purchase their goods. Study the
seller’s body language. Their body
language is the key indicator of

whether or not their price is flexible.”
“The magic trick of a pro haggler is
walking away empty handed. After a
constant bout of haggling, when your
seller seems to have reached the very
last price he is ready to offer – walk
away. Name your price and strut
away with confidence. If he wants
to strike a deal, he’ll call you back.
If not, you can always forget about
your ego and head back to get your
treasured item.”

Cut the red tape

Robert A Heinlein once said:
“Government! Three-fourths
parasitic and one-fourth stupid
fumbling.”
We don't know about parasitic,
but fumbling is exactly what
Bangladeshi public officials enjoy
doing.
Prepare yourself for the worst
when filling official forms. The
authorities will probably find
something missing from your
documents and send you away
frustrated. Arguing with them is
not a good idea. There are times
in Dhaka when you must be
aggressive like a lion, and times
when you must become like an
obedient rabbit – this is the latter.
If you have personal contacts,
use them. It can save you a lot of
headaches. An even faster solution
is bakshish – but that's wrong
of course, and we could never
advocate that.

.

Whether you are new to the city or
have lived here since birth, these are
the problems you need to overcome

Tausif Sanzum
Bangali Standard Time

“Time is the longest distance
between two places,” Tennessee
Williams once said, and this
distance seems never-ending in
Bangladesh. The road jams are
often cited by locals as the biggest
evil affecting quality of life here.
One thing you need to keep in
mind if you want to reach your
destination in good time is that you
must start way ahead of schedule.
It's better to arrive early for an
important meeting than to risk
arriving late. Although if you make
an appointment to see a doctor
at 4pm, there is a high likelihood
you will only be able to enter his
chambers after 5pm.
How can you deal with this?
There is no easy solution to jams.
Over time you develop a sense of
when traffic will be at its peak, and
how jams multiply during rain or
on Thursdays. You come to figure
out the rules of the road – how the
traffic works in areas with schools,

and how the roads suddenly turn
into a mosaic of unruly cars at 7am.
As far as appointments are
concerned, simply make sure that you
do not have more than one of them in
any particular hour of any day.

Road mantras

“I probably did too much thinking
in India. I blame it on the roads,
for they were superb.” I'm pretty
sure the roads Robert Edison
Fulton Jr spoke of in One Man
Caravan were from some other
world. Bangladesh, once a part of
India, now harbors roads that have
become synonymous with death,
jams and honking vehicles moving
in every direction.
“Agility, alertness and
assertiveness” should be the
mantra for your survival. If you
have to travel in a bus and you are
a woman, cover yourself if you
want to avoid those staring eyes,
and remember that the seats in the
Syed Zakir Hossain

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

How to drive like a girl | Standpoint

Driving me crazy
“
I

’m rushing to an exam. It’s
summer. I jostle my way
through a crowd smelling of
burnt fuel and sweat.
In an hour or so, I am sitting in
my car, trying to reverse park, as a
crowd of men gather around me,
each with his own commentary.
“Maiya chalaitase (A girl is
driving)!” some exclaim.
Others took it upon themselves
to direct me. I sat inside, panicking
and a bit bitter, in a sea of
instructions to “Go left!”, “Steer to
the right” and “Back! Back!” from
the strangers who had queued up to
watch me drive.
Unfortunately or fortunately, I
failed my driving practical test later
that day. And it wasn’t because I did
not know how to drive or reverse
park. It was because of the hype –
both negative and positive – that
was created around the concept of
“a girl driving.”
Since then, I’ve obtained a
driving license. I’ve driven to and
from work and I managed it all
without cheering, curious men
giving me directions. So I guess I
could say I’ve survived.
Dhaka is a growing city. There
are other developments apart from
the food carts and coffee shops
popping up everywhere. We do also
have some social developments.
Although it’s not seen often,
women do drive these days, even

(gasp) without the L-for-learner tag
on their car or a driver/instructor
sitting in the back directing them.
However, this is a reality that
we tend to over-hype which in
turn discourages it from being
normalised. While some people get
overexcited about it, some others
simply look down on it.
Too often I’ve heard a (male)
driver comment on the slow
car ahead saying: “I’m sure the
driver’s a woman.” Not only is this
discouraging for other women
drivers like me, the stereotype is
also not true.
There are plenty of male drivers
who are slow, who drive according
to the law, and are even a little
scared to be driving in Dhaka
traffic.
We need to get out of the
concept that all women are slow
drivers and all men are fast drivers.
There are no women-slow and
men-fast distinctions. There is
only slow driving and there is fast
driving, and men and women are
equally capable of doing either.
Women being subject to a lot of
stigma with their driving here has
been pointed out by BRAC as well.
The NGO recently began its driving
programme for women, training
women as chauffeurs to tackle
the busy and often beastly Dhaka
roads.
However, despite the innovative

for female drivers, prejudice,
discrimination and abuse are as
likely to await them as potholes,
traffic jams and exhaust fumes

way BRAC has chosen to empower
women, the challenges beyond
the gates of the driving school still
remain.
“For female drivers, prejudice,
discrimination and abuse are as
likely to await them as potholes,
traffic jams and exhaust fumes,”
reads one of the BRAC reports.
There is also tough competition
for women drivers out there. Many
women remain unemployed in
this sector, possibly for the abovementioned reasons. Of the 60
women BRAC trained in 2013 as
chauffeurs, only 16 initially found
jobs.
Aklima Khatun, who was
recently interviewed for a Weekend
Tribune article “Standing Tall,”
found employment with a fellow
working woman who wants to help

“

women like Aklima become selfreliant.
But this is not enough. We
need more people to accept that
our women are able to do what
our men can do. We need to,
through our daily interactions and
conversations, encourage women
drivers as much as we encourage
stay-at-home dads.
Change begins at home – or
in this case, in the car. So think
before commenting on a woman
driving. It’s a good change, and one
much needed in Dhaka. I ask you
to applaud it, instead of panicking
them into taking a wrong turn.
Encourage it, instead of
stigmatising women into being
permanently stuck in the back
seat.

.

“

Syeda Samira Sadeque

“

The trials of a female driver in Dhaka

5

We need to encourage women drivers as
much as stay-at-home dads

Bigstock

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

6 Digital Bangladesh | How to reclaim your life

The Matrix has you

Is social media taking over your world? Here’s what you need to know about
how to unplug from the dangerous network Shah Nahian

D

o you still remember why
you joined Facebook?
Initially, social media
offered its users an
opportunity to reconnect and
keep in touch with old friends and
relatives abroad, as well as meeting
like-minded people.
Social media – like most media
– is habit forming. It is very easy
to get into a daily routine when
it comes to watching shows on
television, listening to a good
radio station, or reading books,
magazines, newspapers or blogs.
The same rule applies when it
comes to leading a virtual life.
Despite the fact that Instagram
never earned any revenue, the
social media giant Facebook still
purchased it for $1bn. The Guardian
Liberty Voice speculated that
Facebook purchased Instagram for
its addicted user base to feed into
its already hugely habit-forming
social media empire.
If you happen to be one of the
people who start their morning
with their social media fix, log in
several times a day to scroll their
newsfeeds, and cannot fall asleep
without one last perusal – well, you
know you’re addicted.
But you’re not alone. Fast
Company reported that social

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

networking and spending time on
social media is the number one
activity on the web – more popular
even than watching porn.
Just like any other addiction
though, there is always a price to
pay.

Awkward penguin

Huffington Post published an
article last month discussing how
our tethers to technology are
making us socially awkward and
sometimes even creepy.
In it, Justine Harman, Features
Editor of Elle.com, said: “I think
it’s the death of an actual civilised
conversation. I think it’s skipping a
lot of steps. You don’t know people
the way you would if you actually
spent time with them. It feels
inherently wrong to make those
leaps.”
It also quoted Tara KennedyKline, author of the book “Stop
Raising Einstein,” who approached
the issue by analysing the youngest
generation. She stated: “I think
there’s a lot of things we don’t
understand about how to have
conversations any more. I think our
kids are kind of getting addicted
to it. Our kids don’t know how to
have conversations … There are
simple social skills that we are

completely losing because we only
do anything online.”

Alone in a virtual crowd

Passively scrolling through your
newsfeed can cause loneliness and
depression, according to numerous
studies. Furthermore, social
networking goes hand in hand with
narcissism, a sense of negativity
which leads to resentment and
envy.
This is an issue I wrote about in
a previous Weekend Tribune article
titled “Facebook: The anti-social
network?”

Gateway addiction

CASA Columbia, a science-based
addiction research organisation,
stated in a survey: “Seventy
percent of kids aged 12-17 who
spend time on a social media site
on a daily basis ... are five times
likelier to use tobacco, three times
likelier to use alcohol, and twice as
likely to use marijuana.”

Big Brother is always watching

Privacy is precious. It takes exactly
one stalker to remind you how
precious it can be.
Recently, Facebook removed the
option to keep your name hidden
when people search you. It also

forced cumbersome processes for
controlling privacy settings on an
item-by-item basis. Today, the only
way to make sure certain people
can’t access your profile is to block
them, or alter your name so it
doesn’t appear when people search
your real name.
To make matters even creepier,
Facebook has been keeping track
of your unspoken words. Last
year, the social networking site
released a study that revealed
they were undertaking a new type
of data collection in which they
were tracking when people typed
content out and then removed it
without publishing.

A family affair

Facebook didn’t just get you and
your friends hooked. That list of
addicts includes your parents,
distant relatives and maybe
even your grandparents. Posting
something silly as a joke or getting
“fraped” – where someone posts
messages from your user account
without your consent – might
not seem to be that big of a deal
initially. But not everyone in your
friend list has similar views. You’d
be surprised what kind of trouble it
might get you into.

How to reclaim your life | Digital Bangladesh

7

Social
media
on the
go

The middle way
The healthy thing to do is to use
social media at moderate levels.
There is always a fine balance to
everything, and that balance is
the key.
Real life is not something
that should take place in the
background. Online is no
substitute for offline. Life has to
have more meaning than posting
pictures of partying, what you had
for lunch and pretty selfies.
An article on Huffington Post
reads: “Our desire to disclose
personal information about
ourselves to others is ingrained
in the human condition – it’s not
just a product of social media. It’s
so ingrained, in fact, that people
would actually forgo money to
talk about themselves, instead
of discussing other people or
answering fact questions.”
Dr Adi Jaffe, who holds a PhD
in psychology and serves as the
director of research, education,
and innovation at Alternatives (an
addiction treatment programme),
commented on the downside
to this phenomenon: “The
immediacy and reward associated
with social media (especially
through mobile avenues) can be
thought of as a ‘quick hit’ and
would be expected to result in a
minority of users experiencing
‘addiction-like’ symptoms,” he
says.
Rameet Chawla, a programmer
and not-so-avid social media user,
stated in the same article: “Getting
just one hit elicits truly peculiar
responses … I’ve encountered
many young children, as well as
teenagers and adults, who have
become obsessed with social
media, using it as a tool to guide
their self-esteem and self-worth.”
In my personal experience,

the less I logged on to a social
networking site to interact with
friends, the more I developed a
need to go meet them in person. I
was grateful to realise this, rather
than regret later that my life had
passed me by while I was staring
at a meaningless screen.
Of all the people on your social
media friends list, you only end
up caring for a handful of people.
In the age of smartphones, you
can make free calls to anywhere
around the world. Social media
is no longer required to stay in
touch with those old friends
and relatives living abroad. The
same applies for sharing photos,
videos, and texts – with the added
advantage of not putting it on
display for random strangers to
see.
The reason why we signed up
for social networking has reached
the end of its life.
Redirect your focus to keep you
busy with other things. Picking
out an interesting hobby such as
learning to play an instrument,
painting, sketching – pretty much
anything – can take up the time
one might have spent locked
into virtual reality. You won’t
even need a teacher to learn. All
you need is a search engine. The
internet is not all bad – it is also an
infinite library of information.
Weaning yourself may be
hard initially. You might face
withdrawals toning down habits
that have been developed over
years. However, once you discover
how rewarding acquiring new
skills, meeting your friends
and family in person, or at least
hearing the sounds of their voices
can be, you will no longer want to
spend hours upon hours looking
for your hit.

.

Ovick
Alam and
Syed
Shadab
Mahbub,
WebAble
Digital
WebAble

Since WebAble deals extensively
with interpreting data all over the
internet, we managed to gather
certain insights into the usage
of Facebook with respect to the
devices and mobiles being used to
access the social networking site.
As of April 2014, the BTRC
reported 115.7 million mobile
phone users in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has the 10th highest
number of mobile phones in any
country.
The top section of the first
infographic shows that desktop
usage is on the decline, with only
13% of Bangladeshis accessing
Facebook solely through desktops.
The bottom section shows that
just 21% of the total time spent
by Bangladeshis on Facebook
is from behind a desktop, while
32% of Facebook activity occurs
on feature phones (ie cheaper
non-smartphones that use WAP to

connect to the internet), and 33%
accounts for smartphone use.
This second infographic
shows an astounding 6.4 million
Facebook users in Bangladesh
access the website on mobile
devices. This is 76.2% of the total
number of Facebook users in the
country. Furthermore, we can
also determine that 89% of these
mobile users are running the
Android operating system on their
smartphones.
All of this information tells us
that people are on the move in
Bangladesh. They are connecting,
interacting and networking on the
go. The next time you get on the
bus, or are sitting in the back of a
CNG stuck in traffic, look over and
you will see people fidgeting with
their phones – evidence of how
connecting online with mobile
devices has become a part of our
everyday lives.

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

8 Photo story | How to make home sweet

20 ways to survive
living in Dhaka while
loving Bangladesh

Raad Rahman

T

here is a magical warmth
that flows through the
undercurrents of Dhaka’s
immediate chaos – the
grime, dust, and dirt everywhere.
Despite the misogynistic borderlineharassing tendencies of the roadside
Romeos, there are several ways
to make the most of Bangladesh,
and Dhaka in particular. When I
returned o Bangladesh after a 16
year self-imposed hiatus, I realised

All dressed up for Pahela Baishakh in Ramna Park

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

that in order to fully enjoy the
country, I needed to re-programme
my expectations from it.
1. Make friends at social
gatherings. You won’t regret it,
because friendly and kind people
are all around you, and they are
incredibly welcoming.
2. Go out and celebrate local
festivals. With Eid around the

corner, get some henna on your
hands. Make the most of the
various colourful celebrations
pertaining to the religions and
politics of Bangladesh, and see
how they work harmoniously:
Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima, and
the National Mother Language
Day on February 21, Bangla New
Year on April 14, and Bangladeshi
Independence Day on March 26 in
and around Ramna Park. So dress

Syed Latif Hossain

9
in a lungi or a sari, or with bindis
on your forehead and glass bangles
to clink. Eat some hilsa or visit any
temple that fits the occasion.
3. Try all the different modes of
transportation. Look, we know
Dhaka’s not for the faint-hearted,
even if you’ve never been outside
a car. But how many people abroad
can say they rode an auto-rickshaw,
a rickshaw, a cycle cart, a cow cart,
or any other such mesmerising
modes of transportation? Learn
how to live life on the edge.
4. Pay homage to the food options.
These days, Dhaka is full of choices.
For the sake of brevity, I say your
first stop should be Banani Rd 11,
which is fast becoming one of the
city’s largest hubs for restaurants,
cheap eats, and gelato heavens.
Whether it is burgers, kimchi, pad
thai or pasta, chances are, Rd 11’s
got it. And coffee lovers, go to North
End Coffee Roasters or George’s
Café.
5. Go shopping. Saris or western
outfits or household items or
art – Dhaka’s got it all. If you’re
smart, you’ll zip right past all
the faux-designer stores in the
Gulshan and Banani areas and
head on south to New Market,
the DC Market (in front of Dhaka
College), or Bongobazar in old
Dhaka. It’s mostly garments rejects
here, but I’ve found MNG, Dorothy
Perkins, and even brands housed
by Anthropologie, at bargain prices
with perhaps the tiniest of defects.
You can practice your bargaining
skills (see pg 4 for tips).

Through the rear window of the ubiquitious CNG auto-rickshaw

6. Take a break at recreational
clubs. Get away from the crowds
in a club. Whether for partying, for
relaxation and yoga, or golfing and
swimming and squash, the clubs in
Dhaka have the amenities of worldclass establishments.
7. If you’re a woman, take a spa
day off. If you’re a man, do your
metrosexual self a favor, and take
a spa day off. Your muscles are

Cilantro Cafe is a hip spot in Dhanmondi, popular among the youth

Syed Latif Hossain

probably sore from all the jitters
you feel on all the bumpy potholes
that are the vast majority excuse for
Dhaka’s streets. Take control, and
treat your body to some lovin’.
8. Try out one of the roadside tea
stalls. That steaming cup of cha
from the dubious looking mug? It
actually tastes brilliant. With just
the right hint of condensed milk, it
will hit the spot.

Syed Latif Hossain

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

10 Photo story | How to make home sweet
9. Walk around the city parks.
Ramna Park, a personal favourite,
was bequeathed to the city by
the old nawabs during the reign
of the Mughals in the early 17th
century. The colourful, and often
notorious history of the park, which
has been rumored to be the home
of prostitutes, drug dealers, and
thieves, has seen an important
transformation in recent times.
Today, the 68.5 acres of parkland
and lake boast a variety of fantastic
flora and fauna, including the
seasonal purple jacaranda, red
hibiscus, and yellow labarnum in
early spring.

A traditional ‘putulnach’ puppet show at Shilpakala Academy

Syed Latif Hossain

10. Exploring Dhaka University
campus. Curzon Hall is flanked
by the most incredible array of
intersecting paths, and crisscrossed
with some fantastically old banyan
and palm trees. Once you’re done
with the hall, make sure to head
over for a feast to your senses,
by catching up with what the art
students in the country are up
to at Charukala, which houses a
permanent museum and is right off
Shahbagh Mor.
11. Walk around Hatirjheel or other
city lakes. The series of bridges
in Hatirjheel are pretty cool at
night, and create a fantastic break
to the urban planner’s nightmare

Curzon Hall, the legendary academic hall for the faculty of science, Dhaka University

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

Syed Latif Hossain

11
otherwise known as Dhaka, and
either living near or frequenting
a body of water is actually good
for your health according to the
experts. Gulshan, Baridhara,
Banani and Dhanmondi Lakes are
also popular destinations, with
their landscaped walkways.
12. Engage with the fantastic
theater and music scene. As a
start, subscribe to the events at
Shilpakala Academy near the old
Sheraton Hotel. Bengal has long
been the subcontinental hub for
fantastic theater, and Bangladesh
in particular has produced an array
of outstanding theater personalities
and laureates, including
Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi
Nazrul Islam. Additionally, singers
like Anusheh Anadil are doing some
truly fantastic things to revive the
tradition of Baul music.
13. Immerse yourself in foreign
cultural institutes. There are many
events at the well-established
foreign culture-promoting
institutes. Perhaps you can even
pick up a new language. If you need
to absorb multicultural influences
in the literary and cultural scene,
look into places such as the GoetheInstitut, Alliance Française, the
EMK Center, and the Indira Gandhi
Cultural Centre.

14. Visit some fancy hotels. I’d never
been much of a hotel groupie until I
came back here, but the city’s hotels
do have some fantastic parties,
concerts, and food. If you enjoy
pretty architecture and serenity,
try out Ruposhi Bangla in Shahbag,
or the Pan Pacific Sonargaon at
Panthapath. If you’re into concrete
jungle madness, and don’t mind
being served wine in a plastic cup
with garish blue and green lighting
as background, the Westin in
Gulshan is not a bad choice.
15. Be practical about your safety.
Make sure you have a ride if you’re
going anywhere after dark, and try
to travel in groups. Do tone down
on showing too much skin unless
you don’t mind getting stared at.
Otherwise, rock on. We all need to
work to change the conservative
culture that is fast becoming
pervasive, so every single bit of
rebellion that pushes this city into 21st
century egalitarian rhetoric is truly
appreciated by us more liberal locals.
16. Buy an e-reader. Even if you
like the fresh scent of paper enough
that it makes you giddily guilty to
contemplate switching over to the
boring alternative of holding more
plastic than your smartphone,
imagine the ultimate nightmare:
life once you’ve run out of decent

Rooplal House in the Farashganj area in old Dhaka

books in Dhaka’s scanty bookstores.
17. Eat with the changing seasons.
Enjoy the large variety of seasonal
local fruits and vegetables. Mango
and guava season can start as early
as April and run well into August,
with a three week sprinkling of
lychees in June. December and
January are tomato and spinach
season, as well as sweetpeas and
runner beans. Stay as close to local
as possible.
18. Explore old Dhaka. Whether it’s
the Star Mosque, or some roadside
snacks in the winding alleys near
Agamasi Lane, you will appreciate
the narrow streets, sugary jalebis
and mouthwatering halim in the
more authentic parts of the city,

Looking up at Lakeshore Hotel in Gulshan

Raad Rahman

A secluded beach in Cox’s Bazar

Syed Zakir Hossain

as well as the rustic outlets of
creativity that is in the pottery and
architecture of old Dhaka. Ahsan
Manzil is also a must, if you’re
stumped for ideas of what to do
while you’re meandering about
aimlessly in old Dhaka.
19. Attend the fantastic art
exhibitions. The art scene in
Bangladesh is booming at the
moment. A good starting point is
the Bengal Art Lounge in Gulshan
or Dhanmondi.
20. Travel the country. Sometimes,
the best part of living in a chaotic
city is leaving it. Chittagong, Sylhet,
Cox’s Bazar, the Sunderbans and
the hill tracts offer great scenic
alternatives to life in Dhaka.

.

Syed Latif Hossain

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

12 education | How to find a middle ground with madrasas

The UNSEEN prodigies
AT QAWMI MADRASAS

Beyond the political divide that separates the secular from the religious,
there is a much bigger issue concerning the Qawmi madrasa students of
our society Syeda Samira Sadeque
difference in their education system.

Specialised ed

I

Photos: Md Shakib Hossain/CK Photography

stood amid 60 rambunctious
children at the Boro Katara
madrasa. Located deep inside
Chawk Bazar, this school
hosts around 750 students for
whom it provides room, board and
education. This Qawmi madrasa is
400 years old, and has a reputation
for creating leaders in the Islamic
world.
But these leaders are never
heard of in our mainstream society.
Too often, madrasa students are
stigmatised as “others,” feared to
be terrorists and stereotyped as
uneducated.
“We complete extracurricular
work such as Islamic literature,
handwriting, and training to teach
younger kids,” a group of boys tell
me as we sit down in their study
room, ripe with the scent of wood

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

and attar.
The boys have just completed
their “kitab bibhag,” or secondary
school (which covers everything
from post-primary to Masters
degree equivalents) and are
currently doing extracurricular
work during their annual break.
As I take a walk around the
dormitory rooms, I notice the tiny,
square rooms that host far more
than their capacity. It is in the same
room that they sleep, study, eat and
laugh.
But the students also share a
spirit of positivity that is contagious,
with which they discuss politics
and corruption, joking about life’s
challenges. They chat, talk and
argue – with logic – just like you
and me. But this identity has been
denied to them merely because of a

Children at Qawmi madrasas such
as this one begin with primary
schooling where they learn basic
Arabic, English and Bangla. Then
they move to “Hefz” to memorise
the Quran. Normally this takes
about three years. Although some
systems in the country allow
other subjects to be taught during
Hefz education, this madrasa
discourages it.
“The aim for our general
curriculum is to cover English,
Bangla, and mathematics,” says
Maulana Saiful Islam, principal at
the madrasa's school. “Much like
the mainstream schooling system
teaches English in line with its
aims, we teach Arabic in line with
our aim of teaching the Quran.”
However, their degree – although
obtained through tremendous
hard work, and covering Islamic
literature, law, and plenty of other
subjects – is not recognised by
the government. This drastically
reduces the ability of these students
to find a job in the mainstream job
market after their graduation.
“The government and the
Qawmi madrasa system are having
difficulty finding a middle ground,”
says Saiful Haque, founder and
president of MOVE, an organisation
working to de-radicalise and destigmatise madrasa students by
teaching them about legal, social
and cultural issues outside the
boundaries of the madrasa.
“The government recognises
it but wants to have a say in
its curriculum. But the Qawmi
madrasa teachers want their system
to remain free from any outside
influence or the incorporation of
another curriculum. They are open
to having subjects such as science
in their syllabus, but they would
still want to maintain the core
syllabus.”

Degrees of separation

“Many of us get separate academic
degrees on the side, and this
has helped to refute the notion
that madrasa students are not
educated,” says Ali, one of the

students who has a job and is also
studying political science at the
University of Dhaka.
Ali studied in the Qawmi
madrasa system all his life, but sat
the board exams at a government
school in order to obtain a degree
that is recognised.
“We are all Muslims, and our
Islamic responsibilities include
spreading the message about what
we learn. For this, I knew I'd need
validity in the outside world, and I
could obtain it only by sitting for a
government-recognised exam.”
Maulana Saiful says the late
Hujur Maulana Mufti Aminur called
for recognition of their degree in
Arabic, given that mainstream
universities give degrees in
languages including Arabic. But this
has not happened.
“I pursued general education
because no matter how much we
study the Islamic curriculum, we
need a certificate to get around in
the world. A certificate, or degree,
which would not be recognised
by the government when given
by a Qawmi madrasa, gives us
validity when we want to share our
knowledge or explore,” says Ali.
“There are experts in every field,
and our aim is to create experts
in our own field,” says Maulana
Sakhwat Hussein, principal of the
madrasa.

Today's scholar is tomorrow's
'farmer'

Most shocking, however, was the
revelation that these students,
who are memorising the Quran
while undergoing a completely
different education on the side,
are often labelled as “farmers” –
shorthand for illiterate, which is
itself problematic – on their voter
identity cards.
These are not students who are
illiterate – they are just literate
in a separate language and/or
medium. While this may create
a certain barrier, that barrier can
be overcome in the same way
the barrier between Bangla and
English medium school students is
overcome.
Maulana Ansar-ul-Haq Imran,
a teacher at the madrasa who

How to be charitable | feature

13

Zakat: Give sustainably
Faisal Mahmud

T

hroughout the history
of Islam, Muslims have
always given zakat.
When done in the right
way, it can be an effective way
of alleviating poverty – and
Bangladesh has about six
million extremely poor families
who need this help.
While other development
programmes in this country,
such as microfinance
initiatives, have increasingly
focused on trying to generate
economic activity, the same
cannot be said for zakat.
Despite research that shows
zakat funds are most effective
when distributed to the needy
in the form of business capital,
this is rarely how they are
delivered in Bangladesh.
For the most part, people in
this country continue to give
zakat in the traditional way: A
single donation of goods or
money. While Bangladeshis
give zakat generously to
their poorer relatives and
neighbours, this often fails to
bring any sustainable change
to the recipients’ lives.
According to Islamic belief,
all zakat is charity, but not
all charity is zakat. Muslims
are required to donate 2.5%
of their wealth to the poor.
Otherwise one’s wealth will be
considered haram (unpure).
also obtained a separate staterecognised degree, says this
ignorance of the Qawmi madrasa
degree, which causes students
to have their profession listed as
“farmers” on their voter ID card,
also affects the government.
He says: “If the government
acknowledged their degree, the
number of our educated individuals
would increase drastically, and we
would have a higher literacy rate.”
“They are excellent learners,”
Saiful Haque said in a separate
interview.
“We’re talking about students
who memorise the Quran –
their learning and application
capabilities are excellent,” he says,
adding that civil society should
engage with madrasa students at a
local level.

IT factor

The students have expressed
interest in a wider education about
global issues related to Islam's
place in the world. Not all madrasas
can afford these facilities, so Saiful
plans on establishing these through
MOVE.

Giving zakat makes one’s
wealth halal (purified).

Zakat around the world

Many other Muslim countries
have adopted a zakat system
that involves some longer-term
development goals, enabling
the poor to get a source of
regular income in addition to
any immediately disbursed
funds.
For example, the central
zakat council of Pakistan
insists that while 45% of
zakat funds should be given
to poor families as monthly
allowances, another 45%
must be made available for
rehabilitation grants.
In Sudan, while 65% of the
zakat funds are distributed
as direct payments to the
poor, 35% is allocated for the
poor to purchase means of
production. Similar practices
have been adopted by Zakat
House in Kuwait and Nasir
Bank in Egypt.

Dhaka’s Centre for Zakat
Management

By contrast the zakat system
is this country is quite basic,
with a near-total lack of
institutional involvement in the
process. However, there are
some organisations that try to
“We'd like to have a resource
centre for madrasa students who
have expressed interest in learning
about the world and information
technology (IT),” he said.
“This could bring a huge
change,” Saiful believes. “And it
would be better to have a positive
change that would be sustainable,
instead of imposing something
unusual or alien on them.”
But not everyone shares this
interest in IT.
“When we ask for recognition,
we are asked if we are skilled in
fields such as IT. But we only want
recognition and a chance. Why are we
denied that? Not all of the 160 million
people of our country are trained in
IT,” says Maulana Ansar-ul-Haq.
Maulana Saiful and Sakhwat
say: “The difference from the
mainstream curriculum is in our
purpose. The general curriculum’s
purpose is job-driven, but ours is
spiritual growth and social work.”

Need for integration

A recent study by the Bangladesh
Enterprise Institute refers to
statistics showing that madrasas are

regulate zakat distribution, such
as the Dhaka-based Centre for
Zakat Management (CZM).
What marks this
organisation out is their
holistic approach. In 2005,
they launched the IDEAL
Village project. The underlying
concept for this project was
to use zakat to completely
change the lives of 150
households in all aspects from
education to economic status,
so that they could escape
the vicious cycle of poverty.
It was heralded as a startling
success.
Dr Mohammad Ayub Miah,
the CEO, says around US$3bn
can be mobilised through
zakat – enough to make a
significant dent in povertylevels. In fact, Miah believes

not breeding grounds for terrorists
– contrary to popular belief.
The study “Modernisation Of
Madrasa Education In Bangladesh:
A Strategy Paper,” however shows
how there are misunderstandings
about Qawmi madrasa students.
The very lack of interaction
between Qawmi madrasa students
and mainstream students
perpetuate these sentiments and
misunderstandings, and a first step
would be to integrate these two.

that if zakat funds were
properly mobilised, they could
replace foreign aid.
Miah says he is working
hard to make people see
the amazing potential of
zakat. “CZM is taking many
initiatives like organising zakat
fairs and various seminars
to make people aware of its
significance.”
He notes that in many
Muslim countries zakat payers
get tax breaks, and he believes
Bangladesh should follow
suit. “Zakat givers must get
tax exemptions. The country’s
Islamic banks pay a large sum
of zakat money each year,
but they do not get any tax
privileges on the spending
despite repeated requests to
policymakers.”

.

In order to do so, there needs
to be a middle ground where
the government and the Qawmi
madrasas meet.
Qawmi madrasa teachers fear
that if they are handed over to
government control, individuals
who are not familiar with the
madrasa system may be assigned to
deal with them.
And it is this fear the government
needs to address in order for the
conversation to move forward.

.

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

14 Legalese | Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi

Crashed

Q
A

My friend killed her
boyfriend in a car
accident few weeks ago.
She was in the driving
seat and her boyfriends
was in the passenger’s
seat. She was driving
very fast and lost control
of the car and crashed

Dear Reader,
This is a sticky situation
indeed for your friend
and it is admirable that
you are seeking legal
advice on her behalf
and trying to help her.
However, I’m unable
to provide you with a
comprehensive guidance as there
are simply too many gaps in the
story and far too much information
missing.
Did your friend have a valid
driving license? Has it already been
established that the accident was
solely or majorly owing to the fault
of your friend?
You mentioned that the
boyfriend’s parents “have filed a
case with the police accusing (your)
friend of murder.” In this instance,
I would normally need a copy of
the FIR (First Investigation Report)
prior to giving any advice at all.
However, since that appears to
be missing, I will attempt to provide
you with some guidance – but since
the advice is primarily based on
assumptions, please note that it is
subject to change depending on the
details of the FIR.
First of all, she has been charged
under the wrong section of the
Penal Code, S302, which deals
with murder. This is a non-bailable
offence and applicable only for
murder with intention to kill or
cause GBH (grievous bodily harm).
This is a good ground for granting
bail and could be used as a defence
during the charge hearing. She
should have been charged under
S304B of the Penal Code, which
is a bailable offence, and states
that: “Whoever causes the death
of any person by rash or negligent
driving of any vehicle or riding
on any public way not amounting
to culpable homicide shall be
punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which
may extend to three years, or with a
fine, or with both.”
It is mentioned, under S304B,
that there is no criminality
attached to this section but is made
punishable by reason of death
having resulted.

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

into a wall. The aftermath of the
impact killed, her boyfriend. His
parents have denied knowing my
friend and they have filed a case
with the police accusing my friend
of murder.
What legal steps can save my
friend and her family from the
accident?
Please also note that the
Transport Association leaders have
demanded that no case be filed
against drivers under Section 302 of
the Penal Code.
According to Shipping Minister
Shahjahan Khan, who is also the
president of the Bangladesh Road
Transport Workers’ Federation,
cases for killing in road accidents
should be filed under 304. The
section deals with “culpable
homicide not amounting to
murder.” One found guilty under
this section may have to serve a life
term as the highest punishment.
Possible legal defences for your
friend are as follows: If she is not
already in police custody then we
could apply for anticipatory bail
under 498 of the CRPC. If she is
in custody or in jail then we could
apply for bail under the same
section. And if a charge sheet has
been produced then we could
defend her.
In a nutshell, the overall defence
of the defendant depends on the
charge sheet provided by the
investigating officer (IO).
Our main defence in court would
be to portray the case as a fatal
accident, in which the defendant
could have been killed as well.
Hence she had no intention to kill or
cause GBH to her co-passenger.
Some penalty against her could
be inevitable if the prosecution can
prove that she had been driving
recklessly and dangerously. Three
questions arise in this context
which need to be answered before
the court:
1. Can culpable homicide (S299) be
committed by negligent driving
(S304B)?
2. What element is required for
there to be culpable homicide in
this context?
3. What punishment is available
if death caused by negligent
driving indeed amounts to
culpable homicide?
I hope things work out for your
friend and let this serve as a lesson
for all of us – next time, drive safely.
The loss of life resulting from
negligent and dangerous driving is
simply not worth it.

.

Got a
problem?
Write to Jennifer
at weekend@
dhakatribune.com

Cartoon: Rio Shuvo/Dhaka Tribune

Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi is a
barrister and solicitor of England and
Wales. She is currently Senior Partner
at Legacy Legal Corporate.

How to avoid a midlife crisis | Well-being

15

Resistance is fruitful
The secret to aging with dignity is making hard choices early
on and reaping the rewards later William Westgate

A

midlife crisis can mean
many things to many
people. The term itself
was first coined by a
Canadian psychoanalyst named
Elliott Jaques in the 1960s,
referring to “a period in life
where adults come to realize
their own mortality and how
little time is left in their life.”
For some, a midlife crisis
is simply the desire to go buy
that flashy red sports car they
could never afford in their youth.
For others however it is a far
more serious sense of regret or
even depression that is hard to
manage or recover from.
The famous author Robert
Lewis Stevenson said: “Sooner
or later everyone sits down to
a banquet of consequences.”
In short, a midlife crisis could
be described as just that: The
consequences an adult is
faced with as a result of the
behaviours of youth.

Wait for your marshmallows

Some readers may be familiar
with a famous psychological
experiment conducted years
ago at Stanford University.
The “marshmallow test” was
designed to gauge a person’s
natural ability to undertake
difficult tasks now in exchange
for benefits later in life. This
concept is known as “deferred
gratification.”
In the experiment, university
psychologists randomly
selected dozens of young
children, sat them at a table in
an empty room and put a tasty
marshmallow on a plate in front
of them. The children were told
that if they could resist eating
the treat for five minutes, they
would be rewarded with two
treats. The psychologists then
exited the room, leaving the
young child staring at the treat.
Some children found
resisting the temptation – in
exchange for two later –
relatively easy. Others however
found it very difficult. Indeed
many consumed the sweet
almost immediately after the
psychologists left the room.
(To watch the experiment on
YouTube, type in “marshmallow
test.”)

Photo: Bigstock

The test is particularly
fascinating given the results
of the follow-up studies.
Subsequent analysis of the
children found that those who
were able to wait longer for
the preferred rewards tended
to have better life outcomes,
as measured by exam scores,
educational attainment, body
mass index (BMI) and other key
life indicators.
Can you see where this is
leading?

Form healthy habits from youth

In order to avoid a midlife
crisis, you need to be able to
undertake difficult challenges
early in life.
Yes, challenges such as hard
work, revision, charity, thrift,
maintaining a healthy diet and
exercise and establishing and
maintaining solid relationships
in one’s youth can be hard to
do, but the later rewards are
significant.
The ability to make short
term sacrifices leads to the long
term benefits such as emotional
contentment, physical health,
and financial security later in
life. For some people this is
obvious. For others though
the correlation is hard, if not
impossible, to grasp.
Yes, we all want to spend
our money as soon as we
get it instead of saving it. We
all want to just lie in bed or
play computer games, watch
television or spend hours on
social networking sites instead
of getting up and working hard.
We all want to eat chocolate
cake instead of going to the
gym.
But to “defer gratification”
– putting off the enjoyment for
later and undertaking the hard
work and discipline now – leads
to enormous rewards later. This
is certainly what the Stanford
University test famously
revealed.
For most young people,
the prospect of being old
seems unimaginably far away.
A 19-year-old finds it hard to
imagine being 25, let alone
65. It takes a certain type of
intelligence to recognise that
you will indeed reach that age

one day, and that the things one
hopes to have in later life (good
health, strong relationships,
a meaningful career, financial
assets, etc) are amassed over
many years. Such outcomes are
the result of a process, not an
event.

Grant your own wishes

Here’s something a young
person can do now to help
avoid a midlife crisis later in life.
Imagine yourself at 50 years
old. Your life is a mess: you
have had a string of broken
relationships, you are up to your
eyeballs in debt with a deadend job, your health is poor
and your home is some small
grubby apartment for which you
struggle to pay rent.
Suddenly a fairy godmother
comes to you and grants you
one wish. You can go back
to your youth in 2014 and
start all over again. This is the
opportunity to do everything
right.
You really will study hard

for school and get into that
university, you will maintain your
health and fitness, work hard
and save your money prudently,
and love and respect all the
people who mean a lot to you
now.
You will not make all the
mistakes you made the first
time round. This time you will
defer gratification in order to
secure the benefits later in life –
and avoid that punishing midlife
crisis.
Pretend that just happened
to you. Poof! You are young
again. You have been granted a
second chance to avoid all the
mistakes you made. This time,
you will make the sacrifices
now to ensure that you avoid a
midlife crisis later.

.

William Westgate is the principal of
Regent College in Gulshan

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

16 TOUGH LOVE | DINA SOBHAN

The cheater
and the puma
Q
A

I’ve been having
an affair with my
neighbour for a while
now. He lives across
the street from me
and we both work
at the same office.

Well, there are a
couple of factors to
consider in this sticky
pickle of a situation.
Firstly, do you love
the man? Or, at the
very least, do you
like him enough to break up your
home and family?
It’s one thing to have an
affair and entirely another to
make a lover your husband.
Ease and practicality do not a
make marriage, and when you

Everything with this man seems
easy and practical, and I would
like to start a proper relationship
with him. However, we are both
married. His wife lives in Japan and
my husband travels to different
countries on business trips almost

every month. I am growing tired of
all the lies and cheating.

take away the thrill of sneaking
around and lying, you’re pretty
much left with what you’ve
already got now: a boring
marriage.
Why should he be expected
to change things because you’ve
suddenly grown a conscience and
want to come clean? As you’ve
already stated, the relationship is
convenient … NOW.
His wife is happily ensconced
in Japan, allowing him to imbibe
the milk freely. Divorces are

messy and painful, and maybe
he enjoys her company – twice a
year – and has no desire to upset
the status quo.
Before you jump into all sorts
of fantasies about your new life
together, maybe you should find
out what plans – if any – he has
for the two of you.
Chances are he will balk at
the suggestion and embark on a
6-month vacation to Japan until
your insanity abates.

I want a divorce, but my “parttime lover” hasn’t yet told me if
he wants the same. Should I let
go of my husband for this man?

Got
a problem?
Write to Dina
at weekend@
dhakatribune.
com

Q

I am in the final year
of my undergraduate
degree. During my
university days, I
had a number of
friends but I never
got involved in any
relationships. Recently, I have
been getting closer to a boy with
whom I share common friends.
I’ve had a great time hanging out
and addafying with him. I think
I might be in love with him, and
I assume that he feels the same
way for me.
The problem is he is my brother’s
best friend, and five years
younger than me. How do I tell
my family?

A

That’s easy. You
don’t. If you’re in
college, then he must
be a teenager. While
you’re too young to
be a cougar, I believe
the term for women
in their twenties who prey on
younger men is “puma.” You
don’t want to be thought of as a
bloodthirsty feline who has to
chase down younger and weaker
mates, do you?
While that may not be the
case, the fact is our society is
not prepared for older women
cavorting with younger men.
Even in the most progressive of
households, you would be cast
into a cavern of shame – only
metaphorically, one hopes.
Forget your parents for the
moment and think of your
brother, who will be duly mocked
by friend and foe for allowing
his older sister to transgress
her boundaries by seducing his
friend, while his friend will get
laughed out of school for dating
a “buri.”
It’s a no-win situation, my
dear. I suggest you spend less
time with the young bucks and
focus on graduating, and then
find a guy who is moving in the
same direction as you. Or at least
one who won’t pay for his dates
with pocket money.

Dina Sobhan is a freelance
writer, and cautions readers
not to take her ‘advice’ here
too seriously!

.

Cartoon: Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy/Dhaka Tribune

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

How to be your own nurse | Health

17

7 hospital need-to-knows

Protect yourself from medical negligence Farhana Urmee

Photo: Mahbub Hossain Opu

G

etting admitted to a
hospital can be stressful.
You can feel rather
vulnerable as you await
treatment from the experts,
hoping to get well soon. One
should never be too embarrassed
to insist on proper care. It is their
duty, and your right. Below is a
list of several things you need
to be aware of about hospital
service in Bangladesh, regardless
of whether it is a public or private
institution.

1) Know your history

Check that your medical history
is written on your chart correctly
and in detail. Patients with
diabetes or hypertension may
have frequent fluctuations in
blood pressure and blood sugar
levels. Such medical information
needs to be diligently recorded
throughout treatment. A careless
nurse may fail to properly record
your health particulars. Small
mistakes may seem insignificant
to you, but could be very
important for your treatment.
After each test, make sure the
results get written in your file.

4) Reject the quickie consult
2) Monitor the monitors

Patients should also keep their
eyes on the blood pressure
machine. Nurses check your
pressure, and they may know
how to do it, but it is not unheard
of for the machine itself not to
be working. Based on a single
faulty assessment, you could be
prescribed medication that could
weaken you, or perhaps even kill
you if not caught in time. Know
your basic vitals. If you find any
inconsistencies with your normal
readings, ask the nurses to check
them twice.

3) Second-guess your diagnosis

Basic misdiagnoses are so
commonplace they are almost
the norm. Young girls with gastric
issues have taken urine tests and
been told they were pregnant.
X-rays have failed to catch
fractures, leaving patients to
dangerously exacerbate the issue
due to a lack of timely treatment.
Blood tests have shown nonexistent STDs. When in doubt,
get a second or third opinion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it
is worth the cost and could be a
lifesaver.

A post surgery patient may get
only 30 seconds of attention from
consultant doctors, even the
morning after surgery. Gallingly,
the quickie consultation includes
suggestions on next steps for the
patient after a cursory check of
the case history of the patient
and his or her current condition.
Even if you are admitted to a
private hospital in Dhaka and
are paying a decent amount
of money, you can never rely
completely on the service.
Well-meaning duty doctors can
unintentionally contribute to this,
as they have less qualifications
and experience. Insist on getting
your moneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth from your
consultant doctor.

5) Nurses can be a pain

For basic pain, you can expect
support from the nurses.
But in the case of medical
complications, nurses should
not try to provide the answers,
but rather notify the doctors
and extend a helping hand as
needed. Women in delivery
should be forewarned: If you opt
not to have a C-section, but seek
normal delivery instead, nurses

in many clinics and hospitals may
misbehave with you, or not be
interested in helping you while
you are in pain.

6) Use the referral express line

In public hospitals, there have
been instances of patients dying
in the emergency ward before
ever being looked at by doctors.
The reason is the lack of nurses
at these hospitals. Irrespective of
what kind of hospital youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in,
try to go to a doctor who is known
to you, or was recommended by
an acquaintance. In that case, you
have a higher chance of receiving
quality attention and better
treatment.

7) Beware the ward boys

If you have an accident or
emergency, and are sent to a
public hospital assumed to
provide the best treatment, you
should know that you will not be
able to get a seat or bed unless
you have paid a middleman or
broker. More distressingly, the
ward boys often pretend to be
doctors, doing stitches and minor
surgery in order to pocket the
fees. Make sure you check in with
your actual doctor.

.

WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

18 Stay in | ‘How to’ films

What
I
learned
from
the
movies
Ruwaida Khandker

2. How to deal with a bad
reputation:
Easy A (2010, starring Emma Stone)
In this witty comedy, Olive
Penderghast lies about losing her
virginity in an attempt to seem
cool, and she is suddenly the talk of
her school. Recognising her talent
at making up sexual affairs, the
unpopular males in her school ask
her to spread stories about faux
love affairs with her, in exchange
for money and gift cards. Wearing
an assortment of expensive
lingerie, Olive talks you through
exactly how she gets herself into
and out of this mess.

Sudoku

Use the numbers 1-9 to complete
each of the 3x3 square grids such
that each horizontal and vertical line
also contains all of the digits from 1-9

3. How to deal with unrequited
love:
Flipped (2010, starring Madeline
Carroll and Callan MacAuliffe)
Many of us have suffered from
unrequited love. Flipped is a
heartening drama that centres
around the lives of two 12-yearold children. In the second grade,
Julianna ‘Juli’ Baker falls head over
heels in love with Bryce Loski. She
is determined, but he rebuffs and
ridicules her. After 5 years Julie
finally realises Bryce is not meant
for her. Predictably, Bryce has
his own reaction to her change of
heart.
4. How to deal with break ups:
High Fidelity (2000, starring John
Cusack)
John Cusack plays Rob, an easy
going record store owner who
has faced being dumped a fair
few times. He walks us through
his top 5 break ups, including the
one he is currently going through.
We meet his nagging mother and
his crumbling record business. If
you've just had a tough break up,
this funny and engaging film is the
perfect antidote.

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

6. How to deal with illness:
50/50 (2011, starring Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and
Anna Kendrick)
50/50 follows the life of 27-year-old
Adam Learner who was diagnosed
with a rare form of cancer in this
beautiful, funny and heart-warming
film. He breaks up with his cheating
girlfriend Rachel, while dealing
with his mother, an Alzheimer’s

5. How to find friends:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
(2012, starring Logan Lerman,
Emma Watson and Ezra Miller)
This beautiful, eye-opening film is
not your usual teen flick. Charlie
is a freshman who is taken under
the wing of seniors step-sister and
brother Sam and Patrick. Prior to
meeting them, Charlie had only one
friend, who committed suicide, and
he would always feel as though he
didn’t belong. The two introduce
Charlie to their friend circle and he
finally feels a part of something.
While battling his forbidden love
for Sam and coping with the death
of his aunt, Charlie learns how
beautiful life can be when you are
surrounded by people you love.

patient who insists on moving in
with him. Adam then develops an
unlikely bond with his therapist
Katie, while his best friend Kyle
tries to keep his spirits high when
he is told he must undergo a
dangerous operation.
7. How to make the most of your
career:
Today’s Special (2009, starring
Aasif Mandvi and Naseeruddin
Shah)
In this funny foodie flick, Samir, a
sous chef in Manhattan, quits his
job when he is not promoted. He
then decides to venture out to Paris
for an internship. But when his
father becomes sick, Samir must
stay home to run his family’s Indian
restaurant in Queens. Despite
struggling with the cooking, Samir
gets in touch with his Indian
heritage, setting himself on an
exploration of his cultural identity.

Last week’s Mini Cryptics solutions

1. How to skip school and make it
worthwhile:
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986,
starring Matthew Broderick)
This classic 80s comedy will warm
your heart and leave you in stitches
of laughter. Ferris Bueller is your
average American teenager who
just wants to take a break from
the hellhole that is high school.
We’ve all been there, right? Watch
as Ferris fools his parents and
teachers, and sets out to have the
best day of his life in Chicago.

ACROSS
1 Where one lives is partly in Panama (7)
4 Scene shows Mario in commercial returns (7)
6 Twisting road ran to mountainous land (7)
7 Elation about something that requires clipping (7)
DOWN
1 Messily try hand at firefighting equipment (7)
2 Fair secret agent holds first of lessons (5)
3 A five in way of effort (7)
5 Courts temptress initially in song (5)

no fault in their stars | Go out

No fault in their stars
When July 18-Aug 18, 3pm and 7pm daily
Where Blockbuster Cinemas, Jamuna Future Park, Bashundhara
What The Fault in Our Stars
and began actively trying to bring
the movie to Dhaka. After lengthy
proceedings, they announced that
they would be screening the film.
“People have messaged both
Sel and me, thanking us for starting
this initiative. Everyone seems
hopeful that this will start a new
trend in Bangladesh,” said Sifana.

How can you get your favourite film
onto the big screen in Dhaka? With
determination, persistence, and
a little help from your friends on
social networks.
Making it happen
Sifana Sohail and Selima Kabir,
both 19, founders of the Young
Adult Novel Appreciation Club, are
huge fans of John Green. When
they heard Hollywood was making
a movie based on his best-selling
book, The Fault in Our Stars, they
were thrilled, and eager to see it on
the big screen.
“Not many good young adult
(YA) non-action/adventure movies
are shown in Bangladesh. We
hoped that if TFiOS (as it is called)
were released in Bangladesh, it
might open the floodgates for other
YA movies,” said Sifana.
The duo approached several
theatres, and finally landed a
meeting with Blockbuster Cinemas.
The management was tentative
at first, and then told them 20th
Century Fox was not interested in
showing the film in Bangladesh.
“We had to prove that an
audience for these films exists in
Bangladesh.” Blockbuster told
them that if they could confirm
the existence of 5,000 interested
viewers, the organisation would
consider bringing in the movie.
“We opened a Facebook page
asking people interested to join.
We received an overwhelming
response. It was not something we
had expected, and we were able
to go back to Blockbuster almost
immediately.”
Armed with the crucial “likes,”
Blockbuster watched the movie,

Recogntion from the
author
Nerdfighters were also instrumental
to their success. Nerdfighters are
a huge international community
trying to make the world better.
Ethel Ester, for whom the book was
written, turned to the Nerdfighter
community for strength when she
was diagnosed with cancer.
The Bangladeshi chapter
reached out to offer support in
bringing the film to Dhaka.
“When we decided to shoot
a fan promo, we cast fellow
Nerdfighters and shot the video at
and near my house in Baridhara
DOHS. Shawn from the Uncultured
Project, a fellow Nerdfighter,
tweeted the video.
John Green then retweeted
the video – calling it brilliant
and hilarious. The pair said:
“It’s amazing to have our
video recognised by someone
whose own YouTube videos are
internationally renowned.”
About the film
The Fault In Our Stars follows the
life of Hazel Grace, a 16-year-old
cancer patient with a love for books
and reality TV.
Her parents, concerned that
Hazel does not want to make
new friends, send her to a cancer
support group with other teenagers
facing the same problems. Here
she meets Augustus Waters – a
charming, happy-go-lucky boy.
They click instantly.
Their friendship slowly turns
into love, and the pair become
inseparable. Augustus surprises
Hazel with a visit to Amsterdam
so Hazel can meet the author
of her favourite book, Peter Van
Houten. Despite having the time
of her life, Hazel finds out Peter
Van Houten is not at all that he
seems, and Augustus reveals some
heartbreaking news.
Will Hazel’s newly exciting and
positive life go back to being
miserable and comfortless?

.

July 18

19

Weekly Planner

Photography | History
Captured in Lens: A
Tribute to Tajuddin
Ahmed

When 11am-5pm
Where Gallery Twenty One, 751
Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi
What An exhibition with
photographs of Tajuddin Ahmed,
Bangladesh’s first prime minister,
will be held observing his 89th
birth anniversary. The exhibition is
curated by his daughter Simeen
Hossain Rimi. Minister of Liberation
War Affairs AKM Mozammel Huq will
inaugurate the exhibition.

Cause | Save Humanity,
Save Palestine

When 3:30pm-5pm
Where National Press Club
What A human chain in front of the
National Press Club in protest at
the genocide in Palestine. Anyone
interested can participate.

Charity | UNYSAB Eid
for Street Children
2014

When 6pm
Where TSC, University of Dhaka
What Eid for Street Children aims
to support underprivileged street
children during Eid by distributing
clothes, study materials, and
food, followed by an iftar for
street children. Donations can be
cash, clothes, dry food (shemai,
powder milk, sugar). Top donors
will be invited to the programme.
The initiative is by the UN Youth
and Students Association of
Bangladesh. To make donations,
contact info@unysab.org or call
01195239756.

July 19
Art | Her words:
Storytelling with
Saris

When 5pm
Where EMK Center, House 5, Rd
16 (new) 27 (old), Dhanmondi
What For this exhibition
inauguration and book launch,
author Monica Jahan Bose
collaborated with 12 women of the

JULY

2014

Katakhali Cooperative in Patuakhali,
with whom she made 24 woodblock
printed saris. The process was
made into a documentary by New
York-based filmmaker Nandita
Ahmed, which will also be screened.
Monica has presented this work
in New York at the DUMBO Art
Festival and Brooklyn Museum. The
exhibition is part of the ongoing,
collaborative printmaking and
story project, highlighting the
achievements of literacy and climate
adaptation by the Katakhali women.
To learn more, see
storytellingwithsaris.com. The
exhibition will run July 19-August 9.

July 20
Charity | Iftar party
for street children

When 5pm
Where Robindro Sorobor, Road
7A, Dhanmondi
What Dream Box is organising
an iftar party for street children
around Dhanmondi. Interested
parties should contact the numbers
provided and contribute Tk200.
Larger donations will also be
accepted. Contact 01680105768.
Bkash: 01680105768.

July 24
Music | EMK Platform
Presents: Trio Night

When 7:30pm
Where EMK Center, House 5, Rd
16 (new) 27 (old), Dhanmondi
What The first set of a classical trio
– a much anticipated take on North
Indian classical music with Nishit
Dey on sitar, Imran Ahmed on guitar
and Dipankar Aich on tablas. These
three incorporate versatile musical
techniques and promising ideas.
The second set features Imran
Ahmed’s trio with Towfiq Arifin Turjo
and Alistair Sarkar Raj. It will make
you groove to their progressive
rhythms and jazzy melodies.

Send your events to
weekend@dhakatribune.
com
SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

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WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 2 0 1 4

20 Interview | How to be a legendary physicist

Ali Asgar Magnetic professor
The man who literally wrote the textbook on physics, talks about favourite
students, translating science for laymen, and Eid Faisal Mahmud

“T

eaching physics at
the university makes
a physics professor.
Thinking, pondering
and living with physics makes
a physicist,” says Dr Ali Asgar,
who was named one of the
100 most prominent physicists
in the world by New Scientist
magazine.
Professor Asgar certainly
lives with physics. During the
late 90s, he became renowned
for his appearances on national
television. He memorably said
about Eid: “Like electrons inside
a material that get excited in
presence of energy, little children
get excited on Eid day.”
At that time, Asgar was
a legend. Students at
Bangladeshi high schools
grew up reading the textbook
written by him. An acclaimed
orator and writer, he has
written more than 100 books
on popular science. He has
also published over one
hundred and fifty articles in
journals like Proceeding Royal
Society, Physical Review, and
the Journal of Magnetism and
Magnetic Materials.
But he became infamous
after another quotation of his
appeared in the press. He
reportedly told the media: “The
secondary curriculum shouldn’t
have religion as a compulsory
subject.” He received death
threats. The government put
his house inside the teacher’s
quarters of Buet under 24-hour
police protection.
I recently got a chance to
interview Asgar at his Uttara
residence. It’s a three-story
building and the entire second
floor is filled with more than
15,000 books. This is his
workplace now.
By way of introduction,
I asked him about the two

proven. So my answer is: No.
Yes, sometimes I feel like
some of my engineering
students could do really well
in theoretical physics. I still
remember one student from
the electrical engineering
department, named Asif
Islam Khan. He was one of
the brightest students ever
at Buet. Now he is doing
his postdoctoral research at
the University of California
at Berkeley. Incidentally, his
research work involves more
theoretical physics than applied
physics. I find satisfaction in
teaching because of students
like him.

quotations attributed to him.
He said he could remember the
infamous one about religion,
but not the one about Eid: “I
still remember that there were
four policemen guarding my
residence for two months. It
was kind of embarrassing.”
Once the best students in
the country used to study
physics, but not anymore.
Why do you think this is
happening?
Studying physics is hard
– maybe that’s the reason
[laughs]. You see, students
these days have become
career-orientated, and there are
very few job opportunities in
the country for those who study
physics.
However, the truth is if a
nation wants to earn respect
in this world, then they need to

Meet Dr M Ali Asgar
• He is currently a
visiting professor
in the electronics
& communications
engineering department
at East West University
• He is a fellow of the
Bangladesh Academy
of Science, a fellow of

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, J U LY 1 8 , 201 4

the Bangladesh Physical
Society, and chief editor
of the Bangladesh
Journal of Physics
• He was formerly a
professor of physics at
Buet, dean of the faculty
of engineering at Buet,
a Commonwealth staff

Photo: Courtesy

beget physicists. Look at
history, look at the western
world. They are now in this
position only because they had
and have physicists.
Why physics?
Why not? Physics is the study
of particles. If you know about
particles, you can manipulate
them, and by manipulating
particles, you can invent and
create.
You have been a physics
professor at Buet for more
than 30 years. Some of the
best students in the country
go to Buet, but they mostly
study engineering. Do you
find that ironic?
Engineering is applied physics.
Everything that an engineer
implements is based on physical
laws that physicists have

fellow at Southampton
University in England,
and a research fellow
at ICTP in Italy and at
IPPS Upsala University in
Sweden
• His field of research
includes: magnetism
and magnetic materials,
renewable energy,

You have written more
than 100 books on popular
science. In 2012, you received
a Bangla Academy award
for one of your science
books. Which gives you more
pleasure, writing books on
popular science, or writing
research papers for journals?
I like both. Writing technical
papers involves rigorous lab
experiments and studying. So
does writing books on popular
science, surprisingly.
Sometimes I find it easy to
understand a hypothesis
through mathematical symbols
and equations. But I find it hard
to describe those in language. I
have to understand it and make
others understand it properly,
so it’s a double task for me
when I write books on popular
science.
But I would say writing
technical papers is not hard.
Hard is forming and postulating
the technical ideas, especially
the original ones. It is probably
the hardest task in the world,
and also the most rewarding.